Karrueche Tran has found the silver lining in her split with Chris Brown. Wearing only flesh-colored underwear and an ornate statement necklace, the 24-year-old model poses topless for Rolling Out -- her first magazine cover ever. In the accompanying interview, Tran sheds new insight into what really went down when Brown left her for Rihanna in October 2012.

"It was very hard," Tran says of the media scrutiny surrounding their love triangle. "I try my best to just ignore the negativity, which is hard for me because it's a lot to deal with. But I try to keep a positive mind and stay strong and not put energy into it."

"The most challenging part about the attention was the negativity and the misconception from some people," Tran adds. "People only see you in blogs and they think they know everything about your life. There are things that go public and everything that comes out is not the truth."

When Brown, 23, announced their breakup last fall, he told Us Weekly he'd "rather be single allowing us to both be happy in our lives." Though the "Don't Wake Me Up" singer quickly rebounded with Rihanna, 24, Tran insists she doesn't hold a grudge against Brown.

"Honestly, all I want is happiness. There was a lot of dysfunction and negativity. I just want to be happy," the model tells Rolling Out. "I hope people can learn from my story. I want to be remembered as someone who remained positive through such a negative situation. Regardless of what you're put through or what is going on in your life, keep a positive spirit. That will help you get through it."

She adds, "I've learned to find happiness within myself. I've also built a strong core. The past year was a big growing up process for me. I'm not saying I was immature before, but the past year, my eyes were opened to a lot of things."

Tran is focusing her efforts on The-Kill, her debut clothing collection. "Chris started his fashion line and wanted to start his women's line. He asked me to be the head of the line. I brought along UgoMozie and MiMi Gazelle as my creative team," Tran says. "Once people see the collection, they will understand our vision. It's a unisex line and it's only black and white. We aren't copying any other lines or brands. We are just combining our thoughts and creativity and putting it all into this line."